In literature, the term sepia serves many roles that enrich both description and symbolism. Often it is used to evoke a warm, dark brown hue reminiscent of aged photographs or ink sketches, adding a nostalgic or atmospheric quality to a scene ([1], [2], [3]). At times, sepia refers to the very pigment produced by cuttlefish, used by artists or noted in natural descriptions, thereby linking art with nature ([4], [5]). In other contexts, it even appears as a character’s name, lending an air of mystery or individuality that can influence dialogue and narrative tone ([6], [7], [8]). Overall, sepia is multifaceted in literary usage, seamlessly blending literal color with metaphorical depth.
- The colors of the markings range from "sepia," or "warm sepia," and "bister" to deep blackish brown, depending on the depth of the pigment.
— from Life Histories of North American Shore Birds, Part 1 (of 2) by Arthur Cleveland Bent
- The experiences of the next day will remain for ever in my memory etched, as it were, in sepia.
— from A Traveller in War-Time by Winston Churchill
- §257 That a sepia photograph of the Coliseum, framed, is a work of art.
— from The American Credo
A Contribution Toward the Interpretation of the National Mind by H. L. (Henry Louis) Mencken
- Belemnites have sometimes been sketched with fossil sepia, or india ink, from their own ink sacs.
— from The Elements of Geology by William Harmon Norton
- My tempera is come from Italy, and I am told that it is made of the tails (feelers?) of the cuttle-fish (sepia).
— from The Life, Letters and Work of Frederic Leighton. Volume II by Barrington, Russell, Mrs.
- This that Sepia told her was true enough, though she was not accurate as to the time of its occurrence.
— from Mary Marston by George MacDonald
- "You have no choice that I see," said Sepia.
— from Mary Marston by George MacDonald
- "While she was looking for what she wanted, Sepia entered, and was, or pretended to be, astonished to see her.
— from Mary Marston by George MacDonald